sniffled, and then turned to meet his concerned stare. “It’s all connected, I know it is.”
“What?”
“Whoever hijacked the plane also murdered Emily. I just know it!”
“We don’t know for sure.”
“Ryan, it’s the only possible explanation. It’s too freaky.”
“Why would someone want to kill the pilot’s family? What would it prove?”
“How should I know? All I know is if you’d flown that flight….” She paused. Her words ignited an uncontrollable flurry of emotions. Her throat tightened. Her eyes filled with water. An icy chill riveted up her spine.
“Keri, you don’t know this.”
She looked at him with a glazed stare. She couldn’t understand how he could be so sure. Even if he agreed with her, she knew he would hide his true thoughts—especially seeing how horrified she was of the thought of anyone harming the children. “Ryan, I’m scared.”
He took her hand. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. Everything is going to be fine. I’ve got a couple of days off before I fly again. We’ll work through it.”
His words, “fly again”, jolted her. He might as well have said: “cheat death again” or “risk my life again” or “give the barrel another spin again”, as if his life were a game of Russian roulette.
Ryan drove into their subdivision and slowly rolled by manicured lawns with children playing in front yards. The moment he wheeled into the driveway, David and Martha burst out the front door.
The sight of the children—healthy and alive—ignited a rush of emotions. Keri fought back fresh tears.
David, leading the way, a stocky blond-headed, blue-eyed, fifteen-year-old beamed a big smile, his five-year-old sister close behind. Although trailing her big brother, she was first to latch onto her daddy as he stepped out of the car. David headed for Keri.
“How’s my little princess?” Ryan lifted her up into a big hug.
“Fine,” she said. “I missed you, Daddy.”
“I missed you too, Sweetheart.”
Pictures of Keri at age five could have easily passed for her daughter. Martha had even inherited her mother’s tiny dimples.
David grabbed Keri’s hand as she exited the car. David was deaf. “Hi, Mom. Missed you.” When he spoke, his free hand signed the words. Though understandable, his words were clouded in a guttural tone.
“I missed you too,” she said, smiling, signing as she spoke. Ryan, Keri, and even little Martha were fluent in Sign Language. Whenever David was present, whoever was talking would instinctively sign as they spoke, so as not to leave him out of the conversation.
A small, beige-colored plastic button, the size of a bottle cap was attached to David’s scalp just behind his right ear. It was part of a hearing device called a cochlear implant. A wire from the plastic button (antenna) led to a mini computer located behind his ear called a sound processor. The sound processor digitized sounds, sending them through the tiny wire leading to the antenna. The antenna, appearing to be glued to the scalp, was actually held in place magnetically by a receptor which had been surgically implanted under the skin. The device converted the digital signals from the antenna into electrical signals. The electrical signals traveled down an electrical array into the part of the inner ear called the cochlea. The electrodes stimulated the auditory nerves sending sound information to David’s brain, bypassing the damaged part of the inner ear. Although David’s cochlear implant provided sound signals—some would say robotic sound sensations—it did not restore normal hearing.
Keri’s heart warmed, watching Martha cling to her older brother as they returned to the front door and into the house. She knew how much Martha loved David. It was a relationship most siblings never experienced. David’s deafness insulated him from many of the negative influences most kids his age were exposed to. She and Ryan also did everything possible to shield him
“What?”
“Whoever hijacked the plane also murdered Emily. I just know it!”
“We don’t know for sure.”
“Ryan, it’s the only possible explanation. It’s too freaky.”
“Why would someone want to kill the pilot’s family? What would it prove?”
“How should I know? All I know is if you’d flown that flight….” She paused. Her words ignited an uncontrollable flurry of emotions. Her throat tightened. Her eyes filled with water. An icy chill riveted up her spine.
“Keri, you don’t know this.”
She looked at him with a glazed stare. She couldn’t understand how he could be so sure. Even if he agreed with her, she knew he would hide his true thoughts—especially seeing how horrified she was of the thought of anyone harming the children. “Ryan, I’m scared.”
He took her hand. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. Everything is going to be fine. I’ve got a couple of days off before I fly again. We’ll work through it.”
His words, “fly again”, jolted her. He might as well have said: “cheat death again” or “risk my life again” or “give the barrel another spin again”, as if his life were a game of Russian roulette.
Ryan drove into their subdivision and slowly rolled by manicured lawns with children playing in front yards. The moment he wheeled into the driveway, David and Martha burst out the front door.
The sight of the children—healthy and alive—ignited a rush of emotions. Keri fought back fresh tears.
David, leading the way, a stocky blond-headed, blue-eyed, fifteen-year-old beamed a big smile, his five-year-old sister close behind. Although trailing her big brother, she was first to latch onto her daddy as he stepped out of the car. David headed for Keri.
“How’s my little princess?” Ryan lifted her up into a big hug.
“Fine,” she said. “I missed you, Daddy.”
“I missed you too, Sweetheart.”
Pictures of Keri at age five could have easily passed for her daughter. Martha had even inherited her mother’s tiny dimples.
David grabbed Keri’s hand as she exited the car. David was deaf. “Hi, Mom. Missed you.” When he spoke, his free hand signed the words. Though understandable, his words were clouded in a guttural tone.
“I missed you too,” she said, smiling, signing as she spoke. Ryan, Keri, and even little Martha were fluent in Sign Language. Whenever David was present, whoever was talking would instinctively sign as they spoke, so as not to leave him out of the conversation.
A small, beige-colored plastic button, the size of a bottle cap was attached to David’s scalp just behind his right ear. It was part of a hearing device called a cochlear implant. A wire from the plastic button (antenna) led to a mini computer located behind his ear called a sound processor. The sound processor digitized sounds, sending them through the tiny wire leading to the antenna. The antenna, appearing to be glued to the scalp, was actually held in place magnetically by a receptor which had been surgically implanted under the skin. The device converted the digital signals from the antenna into electrical signals. The electrical signals traveled down an electrical array into the part of the inner ear called the cochlea. The electrodes stimulated the auditory nerves sending sound information to David’s brain, bypassing the damaged part of the inner ear. Although David’s cochlear implant provided sound signals—some would say robotic sound sensations—it did not restore normal hearing.
Keri’s heart warmed, watching Martha cling to her older brother as they returned to the front door and into the house. She knew how much Martha loved David. It was a relationship most siblings never experienced. David’s deafness insulated him from many of the negative influences most kids his age were exposed to. She and Ryan also did everything possible to shield him
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